Dewberry, a professional services firm, hired Lidia Berger, MEM, LEED Fellow, LEED AP BD+C, LEED O+M, as national sustainability director. In her new role, Berger will be responsible for developing a framework for sustainable strategies and programs, driving Dewberry’s sustainability efforts and technical leadership.
Delegates to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) national convention in Denver elected Elizabeth Chu Richter (AIA Corpus Christi) to serve as the 2014 AIA first vice president/president-elect, as well as the 2015 AIA president.
Varco Pruden Buildings, a Memphis, Tenn.-based division of BlueScope Buildings North America Inc., recently selected Ryan Hill as the new director of corporate engineering. Hill’s background includes 16 years of work in the construction industry, 11 of which he worked with BlueScope and its affiliates as an engineering manager and overseeing corporate accounts.
John Coster, former vice president of Skanska’s Mission Critical Center of Excellence, was promoted as the company’s new green business officer. In his new role, Coster will help deliver cost-effective, energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable building solutions to new and existing facilities. With years of management experience, he has held positions, including chief operating officer at Renomics Corp.
Now serving as the executive director of the Kentucky U.S. Green Building Council, Nancy Church comes to her new position with experience in leadership, developing and launching new products, as well as consulting and marketing at accounting firms. She is expected to lead all aspects of the group’s mission, including program implementation, sponsorships, operations, public relations and member resources and benefits.
Ralph DiNola is now the executive director for New Buildings Institute (NBI), a nonprofit organization that works to improve energy performance, including promoting design practices and technologies, as well as developing policies and program strategies to reduce energy use. A LEED fellow and a past board chair of the International Living Future Institute, DiNola comes to NBI from Green Building Services, in which he was a founder and partner of the firm.
Integrated Architecture Electrical Engineer William Swanson, PE, LEED AP has been appointed to serve on the U.S. Green Building Council’s Sustainable Site Technical Advisory Group (TAG), in which he will help provide technical advice to assure that LEED standards and prerequisites are met. With expertise in electrical lighting for outdoor environments, Swanson actively serves on LEEDuser.com, where he shares his knowledge on limiting light pollution.
Cynthia D. Walston, FAIA, LEED AP was chosen to serve the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects due to her contributions to the advancement of the profession and specifically for her achievements in laboratory and educational environmental design. The leader of the science and education practice group at Houston-based FKP Architects, Walston is known for propelling research and science education design.
Alan Shepherd, PE, LEED AP, the new vice president and director of the WSP Flack + Kurtz Built Ecology practice, is based at the firm’s San Francisco office. Overseeing the specialty practice, Shepherd will lead project teams to provide analysis, design and consulting to clients on issues related to energy and carbon, indoor environmental and water quality, as well as LEED.
Owner and founder of sustainability and green building consulting firm Trident Sustainability Group, Tommy Linstroth has been chosen to serve as a 2013 campaign co-chair for the U.S. Green Building Council.
